Internal combustion engines are known on the market which have exhaust systems in which for example lambda probes are used for analyzing the exhaust gas. To ensure the required accuracy of a lambda probe or else of a NOx probe, it is necessary from time to time to carry out an adjustment of the exhaust-gas probes. This is achieved by supplying to the vicinity of the exhaust-gas probe exhaust gas which has an oxygen proportion approximately equal to that found in the ambient air. This may be achieved for example when a vehicle driven by the internal combustion engine is in an overrun mode for a certain minimum period. Such an overrun mode arises for example during downhill driving, during which a sufficient oxygen proportion of the exhaust gas can be expected. When the exhaust system is in such a state, it is now possible to carry out an adjustment of the exhaust-gas probe, for example the lambda probe or the NOx probe. If a vehicle is in contrast operated under other conditions, for example in city traffic, relatively long overrun phases of the internal combustion engine required for said adjustment occur relatively rarely or not at all.